Living her life to the fullest
Through healthy living and doing things she loves with family and friends (and her dog and cats), this 80-yearold keeps going strong.
When it comes to aging, most of us have become aware that there is nothing you can buy in a bottle that’s going to be the answer to doing it gracefully. The most natural and holistic way to feel and look your best doesn’t cost a cent. What it comes down to is living a fulfilling life that includes taking good care of yourself, surrounding yourself with people who make you feel good and forging on with your interests and passions regardless of age.
Patty Belsterling, Wyomissing, Berks County, is a prime example of how to live life to the fullest at any age. She is a ball of enviable energy, and when in her presence you feel her gusto for life that might have you dumbfounded to learn she is 80 years old. Her selffulfillment is apparent on the outside due to the attention she gives to her mental, physical and spiritual health.
One of her most happy places is tending to her backyard garden oasis where she finds joy this time of year. It’s a place that serves as her sanctuary that feeds her love of flowers, fulfilling her in many ways including serving as an outlet for physical activity, and a place to interact with nature while being surrounded by sheer beauty.
“I so relate my garden to my
life,” she said. “If you don’t love what you do and put energy into it, it’s not going to last. If you don’t take care of it, fertilize it, give it water, give it sun and give it love, it’s going to go to pot, and that is how your life will be if you don’t take care of you.”
She’s a firm believer in the saying, ‘If you don’t use it, you lose it’.
“I’m still climbing ladders and kneeling,” she said. “You do lose it if you don’t keep it up.”
Time in the garden is therapeutic
Her time spent in the garden is therapeutic for both her mind and her body. It’s a place where she can find the time to be fully present.
“I like to have coffee outside and listen to the birds and tap
into the energy around me,” she said.
The physical exertion Belsterling uses in the garden is akin to a workout, but she also finds time for walks with friends in the neighborhood, walking her dog and playing pickleball.
“As soon as I’m finished planting my garden, Erin and I are going to join a league again,” she said, referring to her daughter, Erin Belsterling Giblin, also a resident of Wyomissing. “Pickleball is so fun and it makes me giggle — I want to do things that make me giggle.”
Despite being well over the typical retirement age, Belsterling continues to work in her profession as an independent floral designer and holiday decorator. She most recently did the flowers